Policies & Procedures
by Peetabreadgirl
Summary: Katniss and Peeta have a hard time maintaining a professional relationship at work. Boardroom Everlark. AU


This drabble was born from real life while I was writing guidelines for something nonfiction and extremely boring, and I joked about adding a steamy scene to make it interesting. Katnissdoesnotfollowback suggested a boardroom drabble with Everlark on the conference table. "Done," I said. And like so many others, it became longer than intended. Thank you bunches to Titania522, KDNFB, and jamiesommers23 for their stellar beta skills. They polished this baby right up.

* * *

The elevator doors opened and Katniss stepped in, punching the round button with the number 32 on it, making it glow a dingy yellow.

"Hold that door!" Came a familiar voice and the sound of wingtips clacking across the marble floor of the building's lobby. Katniss pushed the appropriate button to keep the doors from closing, releasing it when the man slid past them and positioned his back to the elevator wall and faced forward. He set his briefcase down to adjust his tie, probably loosened from the exertion of his recent jog.

"Late again, Mr. Mellark?" Katniss remarked smartly, keeping her eyes focused on the steel doors. It was this way every morning; she would arrive at the high rise where she worked at 7:25 sharp, and Peeta Mellark would inevitably call out for her to hold the doors promptly at 7:26.

"It would seem that way, Miss Everdeen," Peeta responded back coolly.

"I see you're multitasking; jogging in to work. You might want to think about splitting those two, since running and not showering can cause you to stink."

"Actually, my girlfriend assured me I smelled wonderful when I left her apartment just minutes ago." Katniss dared a sideways glance, seeing his face lit up in an arrogant smirk, her stomach bottoming out. She blamed it on the sudden stop at their floor.

"Have a nice day, Miss Everdeen," Peeta said politely, motioning for her to exit ahead of him.

"You, too, Mr. Mellark," Katniss responded hastily, heading in the direction of her small office, grateful to put some space in between them. Katniss was head over Human Resources and there was plenty of work to be done; payroll needed to be approved, W2's needed to be updated, and insurance forms on the new employee she'd hired last week had been sitting untouched on her desk for three days. Katniss had learned over the last year that she'd worked with him that Peeta Mellark made it hard to do one's job. Hopefully today she could concentrate.

When their boss, Mr. Abernathy, had brought him to her for his hiring paperwork, Katniss had to force her eyes away from him a few times, her Aunt Effie's pretentious voice ringing in her ears, reminding her that staring was never polite. She was thankful that Mr. Abernathy had left them alone and wasn't there to witness the tension she felt. Peeta didn't seem to notice, though. He was all smiles, friendly comments and polite handshakes.

Every girl in the office had noticed him right off. He was dashingly handsome with a personality that could make an ugly man attractive; beautiful blue eyes, blond hair, broad shoulders, good dresser, liked by everyone in the office. Too well liked by some of the female persuasion, if you asked Katniss. The list of Peeta Mellark's adoring qualities could go on and on.

Katniss had been nervous around him for the first few months. She'd never known anyone so open and caring, as he seemed to be. She kept waiting for the real Peeta to emerge, but he stayed consistent, surprising her that someone could be so genuine. She'd never met anyone like him.

They exchanged pleasantries in the breakroom, and he would stop by her office with her favorite coffee at least once a week to talk about an overlapping matter between HR and legal, his department. They would end up talking for a few minutes about their personal lives. She had learned that he had two older brothers, his family owned a bakery, and he was captain of his wrestling team in high school. He always brought her coffee, but he got himself tea, no sugar.

Sometimes she would wait until the copy/printer machine was in use to send her documents to the one down the hall, next to his office, so she could walk past the door that he always left open. She would ignore him, of course, and he would call to her and say something cute like "hi".

A knock sounded on her half-opened door, breaking her out of her procrastinative daydream. Looking up she saw Peeta poke his head in.

"Abernathy sent me to get you. He wants to see us." He stepped inside the door, shutting it softly behind him.

"Together?" she asked anxiously.

"Yeah," Peeta replied. Katniss rose from her seat, making her way to stand in front of him.

"What do you think it's about?" she whispered, not wanting anyone walking past her closed door to hear.

"I'm sure it's just about work. It's probably not about us." Peeta's words were reassuring, but his eyes betrayed his worries.

"What if it's not? What if he knows?" Katniss continued to whisper her fears. "We'll be fired! It's against the rules."

"It's a stupid rule if you ask me," he said, stepping closer and placing his hands on her upper arms. "And if he knows, then he knows. And if we get fired then we find other jobs." Katniss shrugged his hands off, stepping back. Part of her didn't want to, wanted to press her chest against his, let him wrap his arms around her and hold her, but the fear part was usually what she reacted to.

"Not here," she scolded. "We agreed to play it safe, remember?" Peeta dropped his hands to his sides in defeat.

"Katniss, the door is closed. It's okay if I touch your arm. It's not like I'm strewing papers onto the floor and laying you across your desk to kiss you senseless." His words made her stomach do a pleasant flip. How did he always get to her so easily? Sometimes she hated being weak for him, and right now was one of those times.

"I know it's only been three months, but how long are we going to have to play it safe? What if we end up wanting more than just nights together?" Katniss balked at his question, and she knew he saw her hesitation. His blue eyes flashed hurt, but she had no idea how to comfort him. She didn't even know how to comfort herself. She hadn't thought any further than what they had been doing already; evenings out to dinner or casual strolls through the park. Recently they'd started watching movies at her apartment, which was closer to work than his. He'd even stayed over a few times after they'd fallen asleep on the couch together, bellies full of pepperoni pizza.

She wasn't the biggest fan of marriage. She had witnessed at a young age the heartbreak of losing someone you loved. Her mother lost her father to an work related accident when she was twelve, and her mother had spent two years recovering, barely able to eat and rarely showering or doing any hygienic tasks. Katniss had to learn how to cook, do laundry, clean and take care of her little sister, all while trying to get her mother to come back to them. When Katniss was fourteen, she gave up on ever having the mother she'd had before her father died. She didn't want to go through what her mother went through.

"You know what, now isn't the time. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought it up. I'll see you in Abernathy's office," Peeta said, looking away from her. Katniss detected sadness and a hint of frustration in his tone. Before she could say anything, Peeta had vacated her office, closing the door behind him.

* * *

Katniss entered Mr. Abernathy's office, noticing Peeta hadn't made it there yet.

"You wanted to see me, Sir?" Katniss asked formally, as if she were entering the principal's office.

"Yes, Katniss, have a seat," he instructed, pointing to one of two wingback chairs in front of his desk then turning his attention back to a stack of papers in front of him. Katniss could see the large, bolded letter of the document's title at the top of the page, 'Policies & Procedures'. Her stomach lurched and she rubbed her now sweaty palms on her tweed pencil skirt.

"What are we meeting about today?" Katniss asked, crossing her legs, and trying to seem calm. Mr. Abernathy glanced up from the document briefly, then back down.

"Let's wait for Peeta. Then I'll explain it all," he replied simply. There was nothing in his tone to tell her one way or the other, and she silently cursed Peeta for being late. She hated the stress of not knowing if she was being fired.

"Sorry I'm late," Peeta announced as he entered the office, strolling over to the chair beside Katniss. She tried to catch his eye, to warn him what was coming, but he wouldn't look at her. They had agreed to being distant at the office, trying to keep their personal connection hidden from co-workers and their boss. They would address each other as Mr. and Miss, which Katniss assumed would be cold and distant. She'd had no idea how hot it would sound coming from him. They would only make eye contact if they needed to speak about work, and they would _never_ touch. Touching in any form was saved for when they were completely alone.

But this, Peeta completely ignoring her, was different. He'd never done that. They were always, at the very least, cordial in front of others. Mr. Abernathy must have noticed.

"Brrrrr," he said, his eyes flickering back and forth between them, then back to the document. "Alright, let's get down to business." Katniss stomach knotted up and she closed her eyes, waiting for the verbal pink slip.

"Katniss, Peeta, we need to update our policies and procedures for the company. It's been a few years and we need to make sure we're complying with new laws and such. I would like you work together on this." Katniss' eyes burst open in relief. They weren't being fired? Katniss let out a deep, silent breath, relaxing her shoulders that had tensed up when Mr. Abernathy began speaking.

The rest of the meeting went by quickly, both Peeta and Katniss having minimal questions and Mr. Abernathy needing to get to another meeting. They excused themselves and quietly made their way down the maze of halls that led in the direction of their offices. Peeta continued his silent treatment and Katniss, not knowing what else to do, let him. They reached her office first, and Peeta kept walking without so much as a 'see you later'.

"Peeta?" Katniss called after him before he could get too far away. He turned, his eyes seeming disinterested. "When do you want to start working on this?" Her voice sounded more desperate than she'd meant it to, but she had never seen him this way, and the guilt she felt from their earlier altercation was heavy knowing that's what was bothering him.

"Whenever," was his brief reply. "Just let me know what you decide." With that, he turned and walked back to his office. Katniss couldn't help feeling that his statement was about more than their assignment.

* * *

Katniss glanced exasperatedly through the stack of papers for the third time that day. Legal matters were not her forte. She was trying to have a few notes and ideas ready for their meeting, but she ended up having more questions than anything. Not to mention it was just so, so... _boring_. Katniss rubbed her temples and leaned her head back on the headrest of her expensive leather office chair. She could possibly use a little help deciphering some of this jargon. She was so tired of reading the phrases 'adhere to', 'required to', and 'in pursuant of' littered throughout the twenty-six page document. She wanted to have Peeta explain it to her already and be done with it, but she was nervous about being alone with him after what she'd said, or _not_ said.

Katniss pushed her chair back and stomped toward the door, heading for the breakroom. She needed some coffee. She stopped short when she saw Peeta leaned against the counter, his head down perusing the policy manual, a cup full of steaming hot tea in his hand. He either hadn't noticed her, or he was still ignoring her. They needed to get to work on it, since it was due for approval by the end of the week. It was already Tuesday afternoon.

"Hey," she said timidly, taking a step into the room. Peeta seemed surprised to see her. _At least now i know he wasn't ignoring me,_ she thought, slightly relieved.

"Hey," he replied, continuing to stare at her. He did not smile the normal reassuring smile Katniss was used to seeing on his handsome face, but he didn't look angry, either.

I'm going to get some coffee. Do you want to meet me in the conference room and we can get started?" Katniss felt like she was putting herself out there, even though Mr. Abernathy had put them together on this, she couldn't help feeling like she was opening herself up for rejection.

"Sure. I'll see you in there," he answered, casually walking out of the room. The knot from before re-emerged in her stomach, only this time it was because of Peeta, not their boss. He was being too distant. What was she going to say to fix this? She felt weak again, but it wasn't because he was saying the right things and touching her in the right places. It was because she didn't want to lose him, but she was terrified of what it would take to keep him. They'd only been together for three months and already he was causing her to question what she wanted in life.

In the conference room, Katniss took a seat next to him.

"I actually have some questions first, a-about some of the terms and what they mean," she said, pointing to the first highlighted paragraph. Peeta leaned in to read it, and Katniss breathed in the intoxicating scent of sandalwood and sweet rolls. _Dear Lord, he smells good._

Katniss studied his profile while his attention was engaged elsewhere. She noticed the way his tongue darted out to moisten his full lips; lips that moved slightly as he silently read, a trait she hadn't seen until now, and found endearing. She eyed appreciatively the smooth skin of his cheek and chiseled jawbone, skin that must be aching for a pair of feminine lips, hers to be exact, to drift across it. His hair hung playfully over his forehead as he looked down at the words, and she had to stop herself from reaching over to tangle her fingers into it.

Katniss remembered a scene from a book she'd read, in which the man and woman engaged in a heated makeout session on top of a boardroom table, much like the one she and Peeta were sitting at. Her heart started to race as she imagined herself and Peeta in their places, this silly feud between them forgotten. Would his hands venture under her tweed pencil skirt and squeeze her thighs? Would his lips attack that place on her neck that made her weak in the knees? Would he pull her flush to him so she could feel every inch of his hard body against her own needy one?

Katniss' eyes snapped up to meet Peeta's, who had asked her the same question, twice apparently, and found him staring at her mouth, a look of surprise flickered across his handsome face. She realized she had been dragging her finger lightly across her lips as she daydreamed, and Peeta had caught her. She quickly placed her hands in her lap and looked away, hoping her olive skin would hide the heat she felt in her cheeks.

"Yeah, so on page two-"

"I've already explained page two. I'm on page eight now," Peeta said quietly. She was shocked at how much she hadn't heard him clarify. Had she really been daydreaming that long? Peeta had some kind of power over her, a power she wanted to relent to, but it was against the rules, forbidden according to company policy.

"What were you thinking just now?" Peeta asked, his eyes slightly narrowing in assumption.

"I wasn't," she said. It was the truth. She hadn't been thinking clearly, at least not about work. Her thoughts of him were clear as crystal.

"You, you were... caressing your lips with one hand, and squeezing your upper thigh with the other," he stated, his voice cracking with the word 'thigh'. She didn't remember the upper thigh part, but she supposed it could be true since she had been envisioning him doing it.

The room felt smotheringly warm, and Katniss decided then that she didn't want to be without Peeta. She knew what she could do to prove to Peeta without words that she was okay with this - them, having something in the future. Rising from her seat she latched the door softly, then drew the shades closed on the floor to ceiling windows overlooking the hallway. Peeta's eyes were wary of her actions, but not averse to them. She knew he was questioning what she meant by them.

Returning to her seat, Katniss shifted slightly so their knees touched, the contact sending a thrilling shiver up her body. There was something about the moment that made her feel very un-Katniss-like, and she relished it.

With their knees still touching, Katniss chanced a sideways glance at Peeta. He was staring at her intently, his eyes darkening, and in a timid gamble, Katniss placed a hand on her knee, her pinky drifting with lazy purpose over to graze his. Peeta's eyes followed her motion, and when he didn't pull away, she shifted her entire hand to his knee. She stilled, not having any more courage to proceed further without evidence that he had forgiven her. Peeta leaned in toward her, his hand settling on top of hers, and her heart began to beat wildly.

"This is against the rules, Katniss," he said, and his closeness mixed with the minty smell of his breath made Katniss' eyes flutter closed in exhilarating anticipation.

"What do they say?" Katniss asked quietly, entranced by the fog of lust swirling around in her mind.

In a husky tone that hinted at his rapidly deteriorating control, Peeta recited section 12 of the manual. "Fraternization may be _forbidden_ to maintain image and morale, to protect and ensure fair and uniform treatment of subordinates," Katniss quivered, feeling every word he spoke, and opened her eyes to watch his lips move with his words, "to maintain organizational integrity and the ability to achieve operational goals, and to prevent unauthorized transfers of information." Peeta paused, licked his lips and breathed deeply before continuing. Katniss did the opposite, fearing that if she dared to breathe the captivating spell would be broken. He made the legal side of business so… _sexy_.

"Relations and _activities_ forbidden under these anti-fraternization policies range from gambling and ongoing business relationships, through insubordination," Katniss leaned in close enough to feel the whisper of his lips, his voice having become almost silent, "to _excessive_ familiarity and disrespect of rank, as well as... romantic and sexual liaisons." Every hair on the back of her neck and arms was at attention when he finished, and she was so close to him, she swore she could feel his lips even though they had yet to touch.

She sucked in a breath when she felt the silky texture of his lips graze her own, as if he were testing her reaction. Katniss opened her eyes, a sea of blue staring back at her before Peeta pressed his mouth more firmly to hers. Her eyes drifted closed again as she let the moment wrap around them like a cool breeze that finally breaks the stifling heat of summer. Peeta parted his mouth and Katniss followed, their unhurried kisses sufficiently wetting their lips.

"Screw the manual," Peeta said, his voice deeper than she'd ever heard it, before sucking her bottom lip into his mouth. Katniss let out a small whimper when he let it go. "I want you, Katniss." She wanted him, too.

Peeta stood, his half-lidded eyes firmly fixed on her as he picked her up by her narrow waist and set her on the glossy, honey-colored conference table. It was stimulating and frightening all at the same time, the frightening part decidedly less distracting as he began to kiss her again. Gently at first, his mouth covering hers and then more fiercely after Katniss slid her tongue across his lower lip, inviting him further, snaking her arms around his neck and her hands in his soft hair.

"If we keep doing this," she stopped mid-sentence to kiss him deeply, like a woman possessed with need, "we're going to get fired." Katniss moved her lips to kiss the adorable dimple in his chin that she'd noticed his first day on the job, then dragged them across his jawline to the pulse point in his neck. She breathed deep the sweet scent of him, all the while finding new skin to nip at, his throaty moans and heavy breathing driving her crazy. His hands left her body as he tried frantically to loosen his tie.

Peeta whispered in her ear after yanking the tie from his collar, and the sensation of it sent a shiver straight to her core, "If we keep going, I'll resign myself."

"Don't do that." Katniss was surprised by the airy tone of her voice. She'd never heard it sound like that before. The thought flitted away as Peeta's fingers threaded through her hair, gently tugging backwards so that her neck was exposed to him. If Peeta did leave, she knew it would be because he wanted to keep her, and she decided she would do the same.

"My turn," he murmured as he lowered his head, laving her neck in delicious-feeling kisses. Katniss smirked at Peeta's choice of words and his slight show of unnecessary dominance. She wouldn't dream of stopping him. In fact, she tried to encourage him by dragging her short nails deliberately up and down his back.

"Do you want me?" Peeta asked, as if he read her mind earlier, his words muffled by her skin. She couldn't nod, since Peeta was dutifully lodged under her chin. She also couldn't speak, the sensations of everything going on - his lips, his hands; _her_ lips, and _her_ hands. Every part of her was so incredibly heightened, and the fact that there were people right outside the door that could walk in on them at any given time, made the forbiddenness of it all so much more enticing. Katniss had to settle for a very _un_ sexy "Mhmm" in answer to his question.

As if her thoughts had been posted on the outside of the door, it flew open and the two of them broke apart quickly, Peeta's eyes wide in surprise, Katniss' looking down in embarrassment that Mr. Abernathy had walked in on them. He took a deep breath, scrubbing his stubbled chin in thought.

"Might as well take out section twelve while you're at it." The statement caught Katniss and Peeta more off guard than the intrusion. "But don't even think about doing stuff in this office again. You can do that junk at home for all I care, but I don't think the cleaning lady is very thorough." His voice was stern, but Katniss didn't care. She wasn't going to lose her job _or_ Peeta. She felt light even under the current circumstance.

"Put your tie back on, kid," Mr. Abernathy advised Peeta. "And what say we draft in a 'keep the doors opened at all times' policy instead?"

* * *

 **Reviews are always appreciated! I wrote this a while ago, but I forgot to post it here!**


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